George Clooney considered playing Marvel's Nick Fury until he saw this unbelievably gory scene

Before Marvel signed Samuel L. Jackson to play Nick Fury, it was in talks with
George Clooney for the same role.

Clooney would have been a natural fit for the rakish
veteran-turned-spy.

"Three Kings"

The actor reportedly pulled out, however, after reading the
unusually and ludicrously violent "Fury"
comic series written by Garth Ennis with art by Darick
Robertson and Jimmy Palmiotti, which was published from
2001 to 2002.

He was particularly upset,
according to Sean
Howe's "Marvel
Comics: The Untold Story," about the part where Fury choked
an enemy soldier with his own intestines.

We tracked down a copy of the
book, and it sure is gruesome. Here's a lightly censored
version:From Marvel's "Fury"
(2002).

In fact, "Fury" is a smart and enjoyable comic, which portrays
the spy chief as an aging Cold Warrior who on some deep level
wants nothing more than to get his hands dirty again. Still, it's
understandable that this portrayal of the character scared
Clooney away.

At the same time, another
Marvel series — "The
Ultimates" written by Mark Millar with art by Bryan Hitch —
was demonstrating just how marketable an Avengers movie could be,
including a bold change for their version of Fury from a
white man to a black man who looked like Jackson, and
the rest is history.Samuel L. Jackson (not
George Clooney) is Nick Fury.Marvel
Studios